Parcel-routing apparatus.



APPLICATION FILED DBO. 4, 1912.l

F. G. WHITTIER. PARCEL ROUTING APPARATUS.

Patented A101221', 19M

alf A TTORNEY.

provements in' Parcellouting Apparatusy UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE.

l-iiaEIiEnIoKo. WHI'rfrIEE., OEBROOKLINE. MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOE :To LAMsON- COMPANY, OE BOSTON, MASSAOHUsETrs, A CORPORATION OENEW Y JERSEY.

To all whom) ttmay concern: y

Be it known that I, FREDERICK GnWHI'r- TIER, of Brookline, in the county of Norfolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain new'. and useful Imof which the following is a speciipati on.

This invention relates to parcel v routmg apparatus and more' especially to a package or parcel handling mechanism particularly adapted foi` use inthe shipping departments of stores and in post oflices and the like.'

It has for one of its objects the provision of parcel carrying means of such .a-nature asto expose and permit-of the lready* removal therefrom of labeled packages or parcels, so as to facilitate thedistribution of said packages to4 appropriatev receptacles or bins, together with means 'for' returning to 'a determined point the parcels which may not have been adequately marked or hich may have beenoverlooked by the atte dant or attendants and hence were not removed from the conveying means at the proper point along their line of travel. The said determined point is preferably so-disposed with rcspectlto the receptacles or bins and the conveying partys traveling theretoward,

that the. returned parcels may be rapidly replaced upon said parts preparatory for a second trip toward or past the bins, lthe labels having previously been inspected and if need be c hanged or-supplied if'missing.

.This and other objects' of my'invention will be.` hereinafter referred toI and 'the novel combinations of elements wherebyfsaid ob-I view of an apparatus constructed in accord? ance with the principles of my invention.

Therein a chute 1 is the preferred means for' depositing parcels 2 upon the forwardly traveling surface 3 of a preferably endless flexible conveying device, in this instance a I belt mounted upon pulleys 4 in a known Specication of Letters Patent.

` rAItOELnoUT'ING-Ar-PAETUS,

mannen The conveying surfaces 'of the belt travel between guides 5-6; those vdesrg- V :patented Apr. 2.15,'1914.V Applikation meuf-December 4, 131e. serial 110.734,830.:

nat'ed 6 pertaining toftheloweror 'return 'i -side 7 ofsaid belt.- The conveying ,devicey ,is preferably` disposed adjacent a plurality of bins or receptacles 8*, so that the labeled packages or parcels carried, preferabl in an open .or exposed Ymanner upon thesurface.3, maybe removed by attendants. asl they arrive substantially opposite the bin-W 'for whiehfthey are marked or into which'it is intended that theyshall be deposited'. y

" A 'deflector 9 provides means for automati- Ically sweeping off side-wise the packages,v

se,v

'which have not previously` been removed,

when they. encounter it; theso removed packages falling.' into a hopper l0', or thelike,'

which `delivers them in turn tothe return or under siden? of the belt. .-By this latter,'said yparcels are returned toward adetermined point so disposed With respect-to the bins asto permit of vreplacement `of lany packages that it may be desired so to replace, upon the forwardtraveling surface of the belt preparatory to'againconveying theni'past the bins. -Thep'arcels returningl upon the lower or lreturn side of theloelt are preferably laterally removed therefrom at the said point by a deflector 11', or the like, and are deposited thereby upon a chute` 12, leading if desired'to the floor i3.V v

The advantages of the foreoing construction Will be atvonce apparent since it lfrequently -happens that parcels are either improperly or inadequately labeled orare overlooked] Kby the said attendants so that they are' not lmanually removed from the said lbelt surface 3. I n Asuch a case, theunremoved parcels arecarried along by the beltluntil'they .are removed therefrom by the deflector 9 and .automatically vdeposited on the"return 'side ofthe belt to be finally delivered via chute l2`to ,the floor. Here an attendant inspects the labels of said pack ages and if they are properly labeled, and

have been merely overlooked, returns vthem to the -upper sideof the belt. If a parcel be inadequately labeled -it will be ordinarily,

o f course, conveyed in any suitable manner to the shlpper whose duty'it is to label the packages, after which'it will again pass via chute 1 onto belt surface 3.

I have aimed to reduce the handling of mis-labeled or overlooked packages to a minimum and the construction in question,

what -I claim is while simple and employln no moving `parts other than the belt or lts equivalent, which would commonly `be employed under the prescribed conditions in any event,

automatically returns such -packages -to a point where they may be either replaced upon the belt in the manner indicated or y otherwise disposed of.

Having Vthus described moves in an opposite direction to that in which said 'parcels travel along said path.

2. In apparatus for facilitating the distribution of parcels and the like, means, portions of which normally move in oppositev directions, for conveying, by one of said portions, exposed parcels along a determined path from whence they may be dis-- tributed, means for sweeping from said path parcels not previously' removed :from said means, -means 'for automatically delivering the'swept-of parcels to a returning portion of'said'means which moves in an opposite direction to that in which said parcels travel -along said pathJ and means for laterally remy invention,

moving said returning parcels from said returning portion of the conve in means.

3. In apparatus for facilitating the distribution of parcels and the like, a exible conveyer, the carrying surfaces of which are at all times substantially continuous and unbroken, said- 'conveyer having an yupper portion 'thereof normally moving in one direction and a lower portion vnormally moving in an opposite direction, means for diverting parcels from said upper to said lower portlon, and means for thereafter laterally removing said diverted parcels from said lower portion.

4. In apparatus for facilitating the .distribution of parcels and the like, a belt adapted to carry parcels upon both the upper and lower sides thereof, the carrying surfaces of said belt being at all times substantially continuous and unbroken, one side of said belt normally moving in one direction and `the other side yof said belt normally moving ani` opposite direction, means, co-acting with said belt for removing parcels from one side thereof and for thereafter automatically delivering said removed parcels ,to the other side of said belt, and

Y means, co-acting with said belt, to remove said parcels thereafter from .saidlast mentioned side.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

y' FREDERICK G. WHITTIER.

Witnesses:

B. J. SMITH, CEAS. P. HIDDEN. 

